N78448: United Airlines Boeing B737-900

The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage cross-section and nose with two underwing turbofans. Boeing introduced the 737-900, the longest variant to date. Because the −900 retains the same exit configuration of the −800, seating capacity is limited to 189 in a high-density 1-class layout, although the 2-class number is lower at approximately 177. Alaska Airlines launched the 737-900 in 1997 and accepted the delivery on May 15, 2001. The 737-900 also retains the MTOW and fuel capacity of the −800, trading range for payload.